Fish by the Lake
by Raye of the Sunshine
Summary: Christmas 2016 gift. Haru asks Yuki how she and Lune met. Yuki tells a story about a tired, hungry, and thirsty kitten and a generous, curious, and demanding one.


_I had to write a story for tumblr's The Cat Returns Christmas exchange. If you happen to think this story is familiar, that would be why. I had to choose between several options, but the one I liked the most was for Yuki and Lune. We, as a fandom, shower all our love on Haru and Baron, but let's not forget we have an actual canon couple (aside from, of course, the couples who brought forth our beloved characters) who have confirmed their feelings for one another. So this is devoted to them-and I also slipped in a little bit of Haru with Yuki too, although my person requested them as their younger selves._

* * *

"So how did you and Lune meet?"

Yuki looked up to see Haru looking at her, the brunette ignoring the subtle changes she was undergoing once more. _It's very nice to have her here,_ she couldn't help but think, _although perhaps we should find another meeting place._ The problem there was that she had already tried the Bureau, but Haru was far too tall there, and therefore they could not meet on equal ground like they could in the Cat Kingdom. _A problem to solve a different time,_ she decided, and focused on her dear friend's question.

"Lune and I met by the lake when we were kittens." A smile grew across her face and she walked to the window of the little sitting room they were in. The kingdom was as peaceful and beautiful as always, but Yuki's eyes were on the glittering lake. She saw Haru approach in the window pane, and felt her friend's shoulder brush against hers as the human leaned toward the window. "You see, after you fed me, I realized that I could no longer stay in the human world."

"I'm sorry I didn't take you home with me that day," Haru apologized immediately, but Yuki waved her off.

"Don't be. If you had, I wouldn't have met Lune… and he's worth the hunger I felt back then."

This made Haru smile, and they turned back to the window. "So, tell me about it."

* * *

She was tired, thirsty, and hungry, but she had made it through to the Cat Kingdom. Every cat was born with an innate sense to return there, but it wasn't easy to move between the human world and the Cat Kingdom. The closest entry point for her had been a lake of all things, which meant she was soaking wet at the moment.

"Did you try swimming in the lake?" a bewildered voice asked, making the little kitten gasp and look up.

Another kitten was looking back at her, and he had very interesting heterochromia. Of course she knew that cats had heterochromia all the time, but she had never heard of a red and blue pairing. Maybe it was a weird curse, or maybe it was a fairy blessing! Her thoughts whirled with more fantastical reasons after another as to why the boy in front of her had strange eyes.

"Hey!" he said, his voice sounding a little annoyed, breaking through her thoughts. "I asked you something you know!"

"Sorry," she replied, shaking her fur and then trying to lick herself clean. "I didn't try swimming; I tried coming through. And I did. So there."

This made his eyes light up and she wondered what she said. "You mean you're from the human world?" he asked excitedly, stealing closer to her. "Tell me about it! Tell me!"

"Why should I?" she asked in turn, a little annoyed at him. She was still tired, hungry, and thirsty, and telling some strange tom about her old life was not on the top of her to-do list.

"Maybe because I'm the prince, and you're not?"

"…What?" _What?_ The prince? Really? But what was he doing all the way out by the lake, when the castle was over there, and—Yuki's thoughts broke as she stared at him, her paw halfway to her ear.

"Yeah," he said, like it was plain as day. "I'm the prince. Tell me about the human world… please?" He added the last word on like he'd only just remembered his manners.

"Well, Your Highness, if you get me food, then I'll tell you," Yuki decided to bargain. It was only fair, after all, and it would be terribly embarrassing if she passed out before she could finish telling her story.

The boy—the _prince_ —thought about this, and nodded. "Okay. You stay there and I'll be right back." Then he scampered off, giving her time to dry off and also try cleaning herself a little. Now that she knew he was the prince, she wanted to look a little more presentable.

She heard him come back some time later, carrying a bundle of cloth that smelled like fish. Yuki's mouth watered, remembering the fish crackers that little girl had fed her only a day or two before, and turned away from the lake where she had been slaking her thirst. He put it down on the ground and untied it, revealing two fish that she immediately started eating.

"You're really hungry, huh?" he said in surprise, watching her devour her meal. It was usually more than enough for him, but she was still trying to pick the fish clean after getting all the good parts.

"Starving," she answered, feeling better than she had in days. "Thank you, Your Highness," she said, bowing to the prince.

"Lune," he said quietly. "My name is Lune."

"Yuki," she said in turn. "My name is Yuki." Then she giggled, unable to mimic him any longer.

He grinned at her. "Okay, Yuki, tell me about the human world."

So Yuki launched into a story about where she had lived. It was a place called Japan, where the people were Japanese, and the food smelled like fish. Generally the people were nice there, but she hadn't been able to find a home, with a human or with street cats, and she couldn't possibly live on her own, so she had made her way to the Cat Kingdom. She then went on to describe what the night was like, as he had seemed extremely interested in that.

Yuki yawned halfway through her description of the little girl with the fish crackers, and realized that she desperately needed a nap. "Well, Lune, if you don't mind, I've had a very long day, so…" She yawned again, making him yawn with her this time.

"Thanks for the story, Yuki," he said. "I'll bring you a fish tomorrow if you'll stay here."

He sounded so hopeful that she decided to stay. Plus, she got another fish. "Only if you bring one for yourself," she countered, a little shyly. There might have been some protocol-thing that princes weren't supposed to eat with commoners.

"I'd like that," he replied with a nod, and with a wave, scampered back to the palace.

* * *

"That's how we met," Yuki finished fondly. "You fed me fish crackers, and he fed me fish."

Haru smiled, amused and delighted by the story. "How cute."

The Cat Queen nodded, and then turned away from the window. "Come on, Haru, it's time for you to go home."

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed this! I had a great deal of fun writing it. I simply sat down and felt the words flow from my fingers; that's when I know I've written something I like. Hopefully you did too. There are many ways that people have imagined how these two met, and even how to get into the Cat Kingdom. I have borrowed the idea to go into the lake, although I did not say it was during the full moon, or any specific time of day. Also, you may think Yuki as a kitten wouldn't know the word heterochromia, and you may be right, but it's so rare that the word is used I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it in the narrative, and I also think that "mismatched" is not nearly as beautiful a word._

 _I also believe that Lune would have used his status at least a few times as a child to get his own way. Children are like that. Of course he grew out of it, but it was still amusing to imagine him saying, "I'm the prince!" to get what he wanted._


End file.
